Workshop by Ahmed Shawky Hassan
September 29th + 30th & October 2nd + 6th + 7th, 2024
Over the course of five days, artist and writer Ahmed Shawky Hassan will conduct a workshop titled “On Writing Art Projects.” In this workshop, participants will engage in processes of research, discussion, reflection, and writing practice to develop proposals for art projects, whether they are potential or already completed. Via its outcomes the workshop aims to provide a practical and theoretical experience that combines research, collaboration, and professional writing practice, produce descriptive, practical, and functional texts that offer new perspectives on the participants’ artistic practices and open up new horizons,encourage participants to explore the various roles they might take on as artists to realize their art projects, such as writer, curator, or entrepreneur, and to offer a deep analysis of the nature of artistic practices and what lies behind them, allowinga participants to reassess their role and position in the field of contemporary art.
This workshop is aimed at contemporary artists and professionals in various fields of contemporary art who seek to enhance their professional practices. Participants may include artists, curators, cultural entrepreneurs, and others in different roles, aiming to achieve an ambitious vision for their art projects.
About the Artist
Ahmed Shawky Hassan is an artist and published author, born in 1989 in Ismailia, Egypt. His artistic practice explores the impact of both official and unofficial narratives, whether historical or contemporary, on shaping the prevailing image of the arts. Through his work, he seeks to examine the essence of these narratives and how they spread within the art field while questioning the nature of the authority that establishes such images. His work spans a variety of media, including texts, sculptures, videos, photographs, drawings, installations, and books. In 2024, Shawky Hassan was awarded the State Encouragement Award from the Egyptian Ministry of Culture for his book The Video Museum (2020), published by Mahrousa Center for Publishing, in addition to his novel The Collapse of the Contemporary Art Factory (2022), supported by the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (AFAC). He also won Pro Helvetia’s Research Trip for the Visual Arts Program in Switzerland. In 2017, he received the official award for the “Institut Français/Cité internationale des arts” residency program in France. His solo exhibitions include Exhibition at Ard Art Institution in Cairo (2023), Inauguration at Sharjah Art Gallery, AUC (2019), and An Object Resembling an Artwork at Townhouse Gallery (2017).
